Brazilian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton looks to win at Ayrton Senna's home

By Abhishek Takle
He may have surpassed his haul of wins and matched his tally of world championships, but there is another milestone of Ayrton Senna’s that Lewis Hamilton will be determined to reach this weekend—victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The race around Sao Paulo’s 4.3 kilometre-long Interlagos circuit is one of just three races on the current 19-round calendar that Hamilton is yet to win.

A maiden victory on his hero’s home turf on Sunday would be a fitting addition to his achievements this season in which he has fulfilled his life-long dream of emulating his idol’s three world championships.

"This was the home race for Ayrton, so it was a dream of mine to race in São Paulo when I was younger and I always feel his presence when I'm there," said Hamilton, who until last season raced wearing a yellow helmet evocative of Senna’s colours.

"... It's one of the few I haven't yet won myself. If I can change that this weekend it would be a salute to him and another highlight to add to this amazing year, so I'll be going all out to make that happen."

ROAD ACCIDENT

Hamilton sealed his maiden world championship triumph at Interlagos in 2008 with a fifth-place finish. But the best he has managed at the circuit in eight attempts so far is a pair of podiums, including a second-place finish last year.

It took Senna eight attempts to win his home race with the Brazilian first standing on the top step of the podium, clutching the Bandeira—Brazil’s national flag—in 1991 and then repeating that triumph for a second time in 1993.

But Hamilton’s victory hopes appeared to have been scuppered before a wheel had even been turned in anger when in recent days doubts emerged if he would even take part in this weekend’s race.

Mercedes cancelled a press conference at which Hamilton was due to appear on Wednesday as the Briton had taken ill and postponed his departure to Brazil. The team were swift to quash speculation surrounding his participation in the race, though, and Hamilton later posted a picture online of him on a plane headed for Brazil.

In the post he confirmed he had been suffering from fever and said he had been involved in a minor road accident in Monaco where he lives, though nobody was hurt.

But determined to put the brakes on his victory ambitions will be teammate Nico Rosberg. The German has been thoroughly outperformed by Hamilton this season and though the championship may no longer be up for grabs, Rosberg heads to Brazil on a strong run of form.

The 30-year-old has qualified on pole for the last four races and scored his fourth win of the season a fortnight ago in Mexico. Rosberg won in Brazil last year after Hamilton made a mistake and spun while chasing him down. It was the only race of the final seven that Hamilton failed to win.

MASSA, THE HOME HERO

Rosberg is one of five Brazilian Grand Prix winners on the grid. Of these only Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and home hero Felipe Massa have won multiple times, both taking two victories each.

Massa grew up in Sao Paulo and began his career at Interlagos driving go-karts on a smaller track adjacent to the Formula One circuit. The Williams driver and Sauber rookie Felipe Nasr are the only two Brazilians on the grid and will enjoy strong home support.

Massa scored his last Formula One win at the track back in 2008 and while a repeat of that result seems all but impossible in the face of Mercedes’ dominance, he is determined to give his home fans some cheer by at least finishing on the podium.

"I love the track, it’s one of the best tracks for me and I’ve always had good results there," the 34-year-old who finished third last year said. "I’m really looking forward to hopefully achieving another amazing result this year."